And like I said people drive a lot less than here, so the 48$ figure is also an overestimate. The country consumes oil mostly for transporting goods, for mass transit etc., things that are not very elastic per se. But in general, for the average bulgarian energy is very expensive and takes some 15-20% of the family budget, right after food which is around 40%, and close to housing expenses. It is simple - you are receiving a 3rd world sallary, but the prices you pay for energy are the international prices.

Personally I think that the biggest problem of the US society is the lack of problems :) This country has never experienced a major cataclysm and except during several short-lived recessions, the majority of people never touched to poverty. In such environment it is very easy to get detached and to forget that there were generations of hard-working people before you that built those things, that make you warm and fed. Here we often take them for granted, but they are not, and there is always someone working day and night to keep the lights on. That's why I think one should travel a little bit and try to mix with the other peoples problems in order to get a better grip of reality.

I imagine the Department of Statistics geeks over at www.std.lt could supply any details you might want, but generally speaking, I have to second LevinK here. The things that Cherenkov mentions:

I assume you guys eat, live in houses, that is pay mortgages or rent, buy clothes, do some entertaining, wash clothes, pay taxes, buy insurance, you know, the basics.

usually cost considerably less in Lithuania than they do in North America. Not surprising, when the typical monthly wage might be $350-400 (and that's being generous).

To be specific: 1) it is more typical to live in a flat than in a detached house, and that flat is quite likely to be in the range of 50-100 square meters; 2) mortgages came into common usage only within the last 4-5 years; 3) buying second-hand clothes is quite common -- an art form, once you get outside the larger cities; 4) insurance of various forms remains relatively rare -- it is common, for example, not to insure one's residence; and so on.

LevinK's posting on life in Bulgaria rings true to how many non-North Americans get by.

By the way -- haven't posted in a long while due to the kids being home so much lately -- darn Lithuanian winter. Wished I lived in a nice warmer country. Bulgaria sounds pretty good, right about now...